Joe La Barbera Quintet Concert

Joe La Barbera is pursuing a music career that has featured him in all parts of the world and joined his outstanding talent with many of the great names in the history of modern jazz. His contemporary peers regard Joe as a very musical, passionate drummer and a supportive accompanist. Jazz great Bill Evans summed it best when he remarked that "Joe is very dedicated to playing quality music and he's willing to make the concessions of dues toward that end. He's a top soloist and he does the right thing at the right time."

Among the professional jazz associations enjoyed by Joe La Barbera are the Chuck Mangione Quartet, Tony Bennett, the Bill Evans Trio with bassist Marc Johnson, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and sideman with luminaries such as Jim Hall, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Gary Burton, Art Pepper, John Scofield, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Toots Thielmans, Bud Shank, Bill Perkins, and Alan Broadbent.

Internationally, Joe plays and tours with "Bassline" (including Hein Van de Geyn and John Abercrombie) and the W. D. R. Big Band in Cologne. On the current LA jazz scene, Joe has assembled a "killer" group of musicians featuring the clear, pure sound of trumpeter Clay Jenkins (Count Basie, Bill Holman, Clayton-Hamilton, Buddy Rich bands), woodwind artist Bob Sheppard (with Freddie Hubbard, Steely Dan bands), the unifying voice of pianist Bill Cunliffe (Thelonious Monk Award alumni, Clayton-Hamilton bands), and outstanding bassist Tom Warrington (Bob Florence, Terry Trotter, and Buddy Rich bands).

Saturday, October 12, 2002

Luluk Purwanto and Rene Van Helsdingen Quartet

A cosmopolitan quartet, based in Amsterdam, and performing jazz with a common focus on the traditions of American modern jazz. Luluk comes from the Island of Java, Indonesia, and performs with violin and voice. Her unique approach to jazz captures her own Asian cultural heritage. Some of her arrangements and improvisations involve an evocative recreation of the sounds and sights of childhood life in Yogyakarta (a center of Javanese performing arts). Her overall jazz repertoire blends the music of Indonesia, America and The Netherlands. Husband and pianist Rene Helsdingen leads the trio of outstanding musicians who comprise the remainder of this jazz quartet.

The Born Free USA Tour is a project brought to the United States with the express purpose of reviving jazz traditions in America, especially the practice of jazz musicians who used to travel across America in buses, carrying their music to communitities located "well outside" the great urban population centers. What is new in the Helsdingen approach is the Stage Bus. The side of the tour bus can be lowered to form its own stage. The bus is touring the US from JUne 25 through October 15, 2002 and will ultimately perform at 42 Universities in 24 States. The music recognizes no cultural, religious or national boundaries.

The Born Free USA Tour is part of a larger 2002 International Arts Cultural & Educational Festival - a celebration of art and musical culture of Indonesia and celebrates the birthday of Jakarta. The Festival is sponsored and endorsed by UNESCO, The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to the USA, The Royal Netherlands Embassy to the USA, The Royal Netherlands Embassy to Jakarta, The Embassy of the United States of America to Jakarta, and The Embassy of the United States of America in The Hague.

Saturday, November 9, 2002

Sam Rivers Trio Concert

Sam Rivers is a major figure in contemporary American music, an authentic, original voice contributing to modern music development through avant-garde jazz. Robert Palmer (NY Times) wrote about Sam, "Rivers' great strength is that he has so much imagination and fire. On tenor he is practically without peer, with a sound and style that are wholly his own."

He is a veteran musician who has been featured with such greats as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner, Charles Mingus, Jimmy Witherspoon, T. Bone Walker, and B.B. King, Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, Anthony Braxton, and Billy Holiday. Sam was a featured soloist on recordings of the San Francisco Symphony, the American Symphony, United Nations Orchestra, and the Symphony of the New World. He is a former faculty member of Wesleyan University, Connecticut and Dartmouth Colleges, and Cornish Institute.

His current work centers on his own recording company, Rivbea Sound, and the firm's debut CD of the Sam Rivers Trio, "Concept," with co-contributors Doug Mathews and Anthony Cole.